The Johnstown Inclined Plane is an 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular
railway in Johnstown, Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
The funicular is capable of carrying passengers and automobiles up or
down a slope with a grade of 70.9 percent. The incline and its two
stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the
confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh Rivers, to the
borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The travel time from one station to
the other is 90 seconds. After a catastrophic flood in 1889, the
Inclined Plane was constructed in 1891 to serve as an escape route for
future floods, a task which it has fulfilled twice; once in 1936 and
again in 1977. It was operated by Cambria Iron Company and its
successor Bethlehem Steel until 1935, when it was sold to the borough
of Westmont. The incline was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1973 and was designated an Historic Mechanical
Engineering Landmark in 1994. It had major renovations in 1962 and from
1983 to 1984.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Inclined_Plane>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1670:
Charles II and Louis XIV signed a secret treaty, wherein England would
aid France in its against the Dutch Republic in return for French
assistance in England's attempt to rejoin the Roman Catholic Church.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_treaty_of_Dover>
1916:
Louis Brandeis became the first Jew to be appointed to the United
States Supreme Court.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis>
1942:
World War II: The crews of three Japanese Ko-hyoteki class submarines
scuttled and committed suicide after entering Sydney Harbour and
launching a failed attack.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Sydney_Harbour>
1980:
CNN, the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, was
launched.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN>
2001:
Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal killed King Birendra and several members
of the Shah royal family in a shooting spree at the Narayanhity Royal
Palace in Kathmandu.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepalese_royal_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
obtrude (v):
To project into or on to something in an intrusive or unwelcome way; to
be forcibly imposed
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/obtrude>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is a legend about a bird that sings just once in its life, more
sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. From the
moment it leaves the nest it searches for a thorn tree and does not
rest until it has found one. Then, singing among the savage branches,
it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine. Dying, it rises
above its own agony to out-carol the lark and the nightingale. One
superlative song, existence the price. But the whole world stills to
listen, and God in His heaven smiles. For the best is only bought at
the cost of the great pain. … Or so says the legend.
--Colleen McCullough
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Colleen_McCullough>